


As You Are

by never_love_a_wild_thing



Series: On the Same Side [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternative Universe - FBI, Domestic Fluff, Epilogue, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-18 16:08:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14855918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/never_love_a_wild_thing/pseuds/never_love_a_wild_thing
Summary: Liam and Theo deal with the aftermath of admitting their feelings for each other and try to figure out how to make a relationship work in light of Theo's unclear future.The epilogue of On the Same Side (I would recommend reading the rest of the series first).





	1. Liam

**Author's Note:**

> The beginning of the end! If I told you that this part was going to be short, it was a lie. I'm aiming for 10k (which would brink the entire series to around 100k!!!), but no matter what, the entire thing will be done by Friday night at the latest.
> 
>  
> 
> This will be almost entirely fluff, so enjoy! (And thanks for reading!)

Strangely enough, being in a relationship with Theo Raeken wasn’t all that different from just being friends with him, except in that Liam was less confused and they made out way more often. It was a little weird being together when they were in the office. Lydia always looked smug, like she had personally organized their relationship, Scott looked proud, Stiles always looked a bit constipated when he saw the two of them together, Malia rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose a lot, and Mason was overjoyed and overly invested in their relationship. Liam had already gone into far too much detail with him about how he and Theo spent their free time.

Technically, Theo still lived in his apartment in Peter’s building, but he spent far more time at Liam’s house than he did there.

“Is it weird that you sleep over almost every night even though we’ve only been dating for a week?” Liam asked as they lay cuddled together in his bed, Theo’s back pressed to Liam’s chest, his hair tickling his nose, leaving a scent that Liam was pretty sure he could get high on.

Theo craned his neck to look back at Liam. “Is it weird to you?” he asked tentatively. Liam had noticed that Theo liked to act like he had everything under control all the time, but more often than not, a hint of doubt would creep into his eyes and Liam would know that he was overthinking. Like right now.

“No!” he said quickly, “I want you to stay over _every_ night.” He was halfway through saying it when he realized that it would probably sound like he was trying to ask Theo to move it with him. Which he would do if he could be one hundred percent sure that Theo would say yes. “I mean…It’s not weird.”

Theo turned in his arms so that they were facing each other, eyes searching Liam’s face. “I would,” he said quietly.

“You – what?” Liam’s brain short-circuited.

“I would stay over every night. I just thought…I thought we were trying not to rush things,” he said, expression uncannily serious for Theo Raeken. Not a hint of a smirk to be seen.

“We – well…we can, but – “ Liam didn’t know how to get himself out of the hole. He had jumped in head first, eyes closed, not even realizing that he had jumped until he was hitting the bottom. He had definitely loved Theo for longer than he had realized. They had already told each other. They knew it was serious, but that hardly made it any less scary.

“You won’t get in trouble for this at work, will you?” Theo asked casually. He was worried.

Liam snorted unattractively. “Are you kidding? There is so much interoffice romance, I think Mason might actually be an anomaly,” he told him, fingers reaching up to brush through Theo’s hair. It was still incredible to him that he could do this now. He was _allowed_ to do this now, and Theo even wanted him to.

Theo smiled at him. That real smile, not his smirk or something trying to stay hidden, but the one that Liam liked to think might secretly be just for him. He smiled back.

“Maybe I should find out how long my lease is for,” he said, finding Liam’s hand in the dark and lacing their fingers together.

“Hmm…I don’t think I ever actually said you could live with me,” Liam told him, trying to pretend to be serious. He was pretty sure the smile in his voice gave it away.

“Oh yeah?” Theo asked, leaning close so that their noses brushed gently.

“Uh-huh,” Liam replied, not very coherently, already trying to find a better angle for his head.

Out of nowhere, something soft smacked him very hard in the side of the head. The pillow went flying away again and Theo turned away from him again, laughing to himself.

“Fucker,” Liam muttered, sitting up and turning on the light, only to receive another firm smack from the pillow.

He reached behind him, the soft comfort from before already long gone, and whipped his own pillow around to hit Theo square in the chest.

“Just like old times,” Theo laughed, leaping off of the bed to dodge Liam’s pillow and try to land another hit on him, “Although I don’t remember you coming out of that particularly well.”

“We tied, asshole!” Liam reminded him, “Also that was less than a month ago!”

“There are no ties in pillow fights!” Theo announced, maybe a little too loudly for past one in the morning, “Only the victories and embarrassing defeats!”

“Shh!” Liam steadfastly refused to believe that he had just giggled, “You’re going to make our neighbors complain. Again.”

A split second later, Theo had tackled him back onto the bed, lips finding Liam’s in an unexpectedly passionate kiss. Not that he was complaining.

“What was that for?” Liam gasped when he finally caught his breath.

“You said _our_ neighbors,” Theo told him, hovering just far enough over him that Liam could see the sparkle in his eyes, “You already made up your mind.”

“Well –“ Theo cut him off again with his lips, making whatever thoughts Liam had previously had disappear into the night.

 

It only took Theo about a week to start complaining about eating at the diner every night.

“I’m not saying I hate it Liam,” he argued, “But I can’t eat there every single week night!”

Liam had been mad at Theo for the rest of the work day until Mason met him at his desk, already pulling his coat on.

“Hey, man,” he said cheerfully, “Sounds like we’re having dinner at your place tonight.”

Liam glared at him. “Is that what Raeken told you?” he snarled.

Mason raised his eyebrows. “Uh…yeah, but what’s going on? Are you still obsessed with the diner thing?”

“I just don’t get why he’s trying to make me change,” Liam complained dramatically.

Mason sighed. “Dude, I don’t think he’s trying to change you,” he said with painstaking patience, “But have you considered that this is the guy who’s used to cooking all of his meals for himself and going to the gym every single day?” Liam frowned but more in confusion than anger this time. “I mean, in the past year he’s already had a complete career change, gone to jail, gotten out of jail…sort of…moved at least three times, and somehow managed to fall in love with you. Maybe he needs something familiar to him for once.”

Liam stared at him. “Oh my god,” he breathed, dropping his head into his hands, elbows resting on his desk, “I’m a terrible boyfriend.”

“No, you’re still learning to be with each other,” Mason reminded him in a soothing voice with just an edge of exasperation, “And that’s always complicated.”

“Okay,” Liam sighed, “Okay, I can fix this.”

“Hey,” Theo said, a little more aggressively than usual as he joined them, causing Liam to look up sharply. He looked annoyed at first glance, but there was a certain curve to his eyebrows or shift of his weight between his feet that told Liam he was more nervous than anything. “You ready to go? I told Mason we’re cooking dinner at…um…your house tonight.”

“Yeah,” Liam said quickly, grabbing his jacket, “Sounds good. Sounds like a plan. Babe.”

Theo gave him a weird look but followed Liam and Mason to the elevators. “Okay, why aren’t you mad anymore?” he asked Liam suspiciously.

“Because I’m a fantastic friend,” Mason said. He pressed the button for the ground floor and the doors slid closed.

“If you were a fantastic friend, you would have taken a different elevator,” Liam muttered.

“Liam?” Theo asked.

He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I wasn’t thinking about what you wanted. I didn’t want to feel like you were pushing me to change my life, but I didn’t realize how much I’ve been asking you to change yours. I’m sorry.”

Theo stared at him.

“Can you say something?” Liam pleaded, “Are we okay now?”

“Thanks,” Theo said quietly, eyes moving to look anywhere besides Liam.

Liam stepped closer to him hesitantly. “Thanks?” he repeated, confused.

“I don’t  - “ he glanced over his shoulder at Mason, who was leaning against the wall in the corner with his phone out, pretending that he wasn’t paying attention. The elevator drew to a stop, bell pinging as the light indicating they had reached the ground floor lit up.

Theo took Liam’s hand and practically pulled him out of the elevator, eyes scanning the lobby for Corey, who was waiting by the door. Mason gave up on eavesdropping and made a beeline for his boyfriend while Liam and Theo followed them slowly out into the cool night air.

“I’m not sure when the last time…” Theo frowned deeply, and Liam waited for him to find the words, swinging their hands lightly between them as they walked. “People don’t usually ask me what I want,” he said finally.

Liam looked at him in surprise. As sad as it was, it made sense. Theo had spent his life being groomed for organized crime. Even when he had started working with Liam and the FBI he had been used explicitly for the purposes of bringing the Dread Doctors and the Beast to justice. They were still waiting for the higher ups to have the time for the hearing that would determine whether or not Theo would be going back to jail. Liam was sure that their relationship would come up too. The truth was, Theo’s life had never truly been his own and there may not be much hope that it ever would be. It broke Liam’s heart.

“I’m sorry about that too,” Liam said quietly. Theo squeezed his hand. “But you know you always have a say, don’t you? I want to know what you want. It’s your life too.”

Theo paused, tugging Liam in by his hand for a light kiss that left Liam breathless nevertheless, and then continued walking like nothing had happened. Liam noticed the way the corners of his mouth curled up, though.

They walked the rest of the way in a comfortable quiet, eventually catching up to Mason and Corey.

“By the way,” Liam said, heart racing and stomach fluttering with nerves, “It’s not just my house…not if you don’t want it to be.”

He glanced shyly at Theo for his reaction.

Theo gave him a playful smirk, hiding a real smile from Mason and Corey in the light spilling from the front porch of the house. “Okay,” he said, “Let us into our damn house then so we can eat, Babe.”

Liam grinned at him.

 

To Liam, being with Mason and Corey and Theo never really felt like a double date. Maybe it was because they had all been hanging out together for longer than he and Theo had been dating (no matter what Mason said about them having been practically dating for months now), or maybe because they were all his friends before they were anything else. Strangely enough, it was almost easier now that he was dating Theo. It felt less stressful and more fun to be around the three of them now that they all knew how they felt about each other.

Corey had forgiven Theo long ago, but only recently had Theo seemed to have accepted that. Liam and Mason had left the two of them alone at the bar one night, just for a few minutes to play a round of darts, and when they came back, the tension had eased from Theo’s shoulders and Liam would have been overjoyed if they hadn’t been apparently comparing notes on Liam and Mason. As for Mason, Liam wasn’t sure when it had happened or why, but at some point during the Sebastien Valet fiasco, he had done a complete 180 on Theo. Not that Liam was complaining.

And now Liam was finding that he actually kind of enjoyed making dinner with his three best friends, even if it meant skipping the diner. They took turns at the stove, Corey flipping through music as Liam poured everyone drinks. He kept catching Theo’s eye throughout the night and smiling in the knowledge that for once they both seemed to be truly happy.

“Hey,” Corey said, helping set the table in the dining room as Theo and Mason argued playfully over how much longer the chicken needed to cook, “You guys seem happy.”

Liam felt himself blush but smiled anyways. It wasn’t an embarrassed blush, more that he had just been thinking the same thing. “I think we are,” he agreed.

“That’s good,” Corey smiled faintly, “I was mad at him for a little, you know?” It was understandable, but Liam still frowned. “But then I found out what he went through and, well, it doesn’t make it better, but…I get it, I guess? And I’m just glad that he can have something like this now.”

“He killed you,” Liam said as quietly as he could.

“Yeah, well,” Corey shrugged, “Temporarily. Indirectly. What good does holding onto grudges do you anyways?”

Liam shook his head in amazement. “You’re a saint,” he told him.

Corey snorted. “Hardly,” he said, “And anyways, I think he’s good for you too.” He clapped Liam on the shoulder on the way back into the kitchen, “Aren’t you guys done cooking yet?”

Mason and Corey stayed just long enough after dinner and left on the promise of cooking at their place the next time. Then Theo dragged Liam upstairs, turning off the lights as they went, telling him without words how much every second of the night had meant to him. And Liam was overwhelmed with contentment.

 

“Please?” Liam begged, leaning against the bathroom door. “It looked so good last time.” He tried puppy eyes, he tried everything.

“Liam, my hearing is in two days,” Theo said with a twinge of annoyance, “I have to at least _look_ like I’m trying.”

“But you looked so hot,” he whined, “Don’t you want to look hot at your hearing? You could seduce them into letting you go!”

Theo put down his razor to give Liam a flat look, face still half-covered by white shaving foam. “I don’t think two days’ worth of stubble is going to be very sexy,” he told him, “But…if you want it that bad, I’ll try growing a beard again after the hearing.” The _if I’m not back in jail by then_ went unspoken. Neither of them were trying to think about that.

“Good,” Liam grinned, darting in behind him to kiss just below his ear and whisper, “I want your stubble burn on my ass.”

Theo raised an eyebrow at him in the mirror and tried to twist around to look at him.

“What?” Liam moved back towards the door, “Hayden never gave me stubble burn!”

He watched Theo raise his eyes to the ceiling as if asking for strength and went back into the bedroom to finish getting ready.

“Hey that’s an idea, though!” Theo called after him.

“What is?” Liam asked distractedly as he buttoned his shirt.

“I’ll try seducing them into letting me stay!” he said, making Liam whip around in outraged surprise, “You won’t mind, will you? I’ll just – “

“You’re not funny, Asshole!” Liam shouted back at him, feeling a smile twist onto his lips in spite of himself.

 

They were both a lot more nervous for the hearing than they had expected to be. It was held upstairs in the legal section of the FBI, not nearly as nerve-wracking as the courthouse that had initially been proposed (thank you Lydia for being both incredibly stubborn and incredibly logical). Most of their friends were scheduled to make appearances too, although Scott and Liam were the only ones who would be there the whole time.

The morning of, Theo looked calm. He woke up about an hour earlier than usual, far earlier than Liam woke up, and Liam found him sitting on the front steps, already in his suit pants and dress shirt, tie and jacket still inside, drinking a cup of coffee as he watched the street wake up around him.

“What are you doing?” he asked tiredly, leaning against the doorframe. He hadn’t slept well that night. There was too much to think about. Too much and nothing at all.

Theo shrugged apathetically. “Enjoying freedom,” he said in a flat voice.

“I won’t let you go back to jail,” Liam found himself saying, “I’ll do anything.”

Theo stood up suddenly, turning to face him. “I don’t want – “ he made an aborted gesture. To do what, Liam wasn’t sure. “Would you wait for me?”

Liam stared at him. He wanted to argue that it wouldn’t matter, that Theo wouldn’t be going back to jail, but they didn’t know that, and something in Theo’s face told him that whatever the decision was that was made today, he would follow through with it. He was playing by the rules this time.

“I don’t think I could ever be with anyone else,” he said quietly, feeling it to his core. It might be hard to wait however long he had to. It would be harder not seeing Theo every day. But never so hard that he could ever forget what they had been through together. He had never been more sure of anything in his life.

“I love you too,” Theo whispered into a searing kiss. He backed away about halfway through, taking another sip of his coffee, seemingly for something to do. “Can you help me tie my tie? My hands haven’t stopped shaking all morning.”

Liam grimaced at him, still a little light-headed from the kiss. “You’d better ask Lydia when we get to the office,” he told him apologetically, “Mine aren’t doing much better.”

 

The room was cool and quiet, large and open and filled with sunlight. Liam felt claustrophobic, and he could only imagine that Theo was feeling even worse. Noshiko Yukimura sat at the middle of the table with Scott to one side and Chris Argent to the other, looking like a very formidable hearing board. Scott sent Liam and Theo each an encouraging smile.

He had been very optimistic when he had talked to them in his office earlier while Lydia tied Theo’s tie with such terrifying ferocity that Liam was a little surprised she hadn’t strangled him.

“There’s no way you go back to jail,” she had told him decidedly, “The only evidence that they have is in your favor. Not to mention that everyone in the department _only_ has good things to say about you. Right, Stiles?”

“Yeah, whatever,” Stiles rolled his eyes, arms crossed over his chest. He was oddly silent and moody the entire morning. It would have been off-putting, Liam thought, if he could pay any attention to it.

“Even if he doesn’t go to jail, though,” Liam said dejectedly, “They still probably won’t let us work together.”

“Liam,” Scott said soothingly, “Think about me and Malia. Or Stiles and Lydia. They let couples work together here all the time.”

“Because Lydia and Malia bullied them into it,” Stiles muttered.

“Stiles,” Scott said warningly, sparing a glance for his best friend. Stiles raised his eyebrows but said nothing. “It will be fine,” he assured them.

Liam might have felt better if he could have held Theo’s hand, but he had a feeling that PDA wouldn’t exactly help their case at this point.

Noshiko started by announcing the purpose of the trial and introducing Theo’s background. Then Scott stood and spoke valiantly about all the good that Theo had done for the FBI in the past few months, what a good team he and Liam made, and reminded the board of previous policies about dating within Scott’s branch of the FBI. It was all very well-thought out and well-argued, and Chris Argent nodded his head a lot, but Noshiko Yukimura looked unimpressed.

Liam had to make a speech, both as a review of Theo’s character, which he could tell nobody but Scott took with any sincerity, and a plea to stay on as Theo’s handler and boyfriend. On all accounts, he was convinced it could have gone much better, but Scott beamed at him as he sat down, and he thought that maybe it hadn’t been completely terrible.

Next, they brought in Malia, who had a few less than favorable things to say about Theo, which made Noshiko smile tightly, but they were all followed with grudging admiration for the things that Theo had done for the department and how he had always come back around to their side, especially when he had Liam to keep him in check.

Mason was nearly as nervous as Liam had been and seemed to stick to something of a script about how great Theo was and how great Liam was and basically only stopped just short of begging them not to put Theo back in jail.

Lydia’s testimony was strong and convincing, having everyone in the room nodding. She spoke in detail about everything that had happened since Theo had been brought on as a consultant, leaving most of the convincing to that facts, which in itself was a compelling argument. At the end though, she spared a few sentences for the changes that Theo had also made to the inner workings of their department.

“It’s not as though we weren’t close before,” she said decidedly, “But there’s a level of trust that exists now that you can’t have without a little adversity. Theo reminds us of that every day.” She spared a light smile for him.

As impressed with Lydia as Chris and Noshiko clearly were, Liam could tell that they still weren’t convinced. All that was left was for Theo to speak for himself. They watched the board shuffle papers around, but nobody asked Theo to speak.

“Should I –“ Scott started to say, but then Stiles burst in.

“Sorry,” he said quickly, “I thought Lydia would take longer. She’s kind of made friends with Raeken lately for some reason, and she’s been really worked up about him going back to jail the past few days, so I was maybe expecting more of a rant, which,” he glared at the board as if it was their fault, “Is not optimal in her condition.” He crossed the room to stand in front of the board. “Anyways, I would go over my whole past with him,” he nodded his head at Raeken, “Except you were all there for that, which is why I think this is a totally idiotic hearing.”

Liam’s eyes widened and he looked at Theo, who was grimacing. Stiles had come to give his testimony on Theo’s behalf, and so far it wasn’t looking like that was a good thing.

“If you had paid any attention, you would know exactly what to do,” Stiles told them, sounding very much like he was lecturing three small children, “Raeken has changed drastically in the past few months and it’s not from any of that time he spent in jail. I don’t get it, like, I really _really_ don’t, but Liam seems to be doing him some good and from the reduced number of complaints that we’ve had, it seems like Raeken is doing Liam some good too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that Raeken’s a boy scout or that he doesn’t deserve some sort of punishment, like, the dude really fucked up my life, but he’s different now, and if you’re not going to take that into consideration, then I fucking quit.” He started towards the door and then looked back at Scott, “Also I was kidding about the quitting part. I’m not quitting.”

“Yeah,” Scott grinned, “We got that, Stiles.”

Stiles shot his best friend some finger guns and then walked back out the door.

Chris and Noshiko looked at each other, relatively stunned.

“Can I speak for myself now?” Theo asked. There was a new spark of fire in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“Yes, Mr. Raeken,” Noshiko allowed.

“I don’t mind if you feel the need to send me back to jail,” he told them, “I know that I deserve worse for what I’ve done, and I wish there was some way that I could go back and change it, but there isn’t. If it were up to me, though, my sentence would be a lifetime of serving others and saving lives. If I can undo the tiniest bit of the wrong that I have done, any amount of time would be worth it.”

The board stared at him expectantly, but Theo seemed to be finished.

“That’s all?” Chris asked, “What about working with Agent Dunbar?”

A small smirk came onto Theo’s lips. “I don’t expect you to give me a reward that I don’t deserve,” he told them, “And he’s already said he’ll wait for me if I go back to jail. Even if it’s an empty promise, it’s already more than I deserve.”

“It’s not –“ Liam started, but caught himself. It wasn’t his time to speak. The board still had a decision to make.

“Thank you everyone,” Noshiko nodded, “The board will go over your information, Mr. Raeken, and you will receive a verdict within the week. You and Agent Dunbar are free to go, with the reminder that you are to stay within your radius, no exceptions, until further notice.”

They said their thank you’s quickly and left the room.

“Were you serious about what you said in there?” Liam asked as they stepped into the elevator to go back down to their level.

Theo loosened his tie with a finger. “Yeah,” he said, sounding a bit surprised with himself, “Every word.”

“You could go back to jail,” Liam reminded him, “Forever.”

Theo shrugged. “I would deserve it.”

Liam looked at him, feeling the fire of indignant rage spark within himself. “No, you – “

Theo looked at him, smiling slightly. “Don’t try and defend my honor, Liam,” he told him, “There’s nothing left to defend.”

“Well if you think I don’t care then you can go fuck yourself,” Liam snarled.

Theo snorted. “I know you care,” he said, “And I would rather fuck you or have you fuck me, but that’s not the point.”

Liam frowned at him. “Well then what is?” he demanded.

“I need to make amends,” Theo muttered, eyes cast down.

Liam stared as the elevator doors dinged open. He wasn’t sure what to say, but Theo didn’t seem to expect him to say anything. Instead, he took Liam’s hand and led him back into their department, bypassing their desks and Scott’s empty office before knocking in the doorway to Stiles and Lydia’s office. The two of them looked up.

“How did it go?” Lydia asked, swiveling in her chair

“Could have been worse,” Theo shrugged, “Thanks for what you said.” He glanced at Stiles, “And you too.”

“I’m just trying to make sure that everyone gets justice,” he replied stubbornly.

Liam could have argued that Noshiko Yukimura was the most fair person that they could have had leading the board (it was the reason they picked her in the first place, but he chose not to.

“Yeah, well…thanks,” Theo said.

“So when do you hear back?” Lydia pressed.

“Within the week,” Theo shrugged, trying very hard to seem like he didn’t care.

Lydia rolled her eyes. “I’ll see if I can speed up the process,” she told him, “And don’t look like that. They’re not going to send you back to jail.”

Liam’s eyes dropped momentarily to her stomach and then straight back to her face as soon as he realized what he was doing. “Don’t you…uh…don’t you think you should maybe be trying to take it easy?” he asked carefully. Stiles sent him an approving look, but Lydia glared as terrifyingly as only a woman nine months pregnant possibly could.

“You should probably run while you can,” Theo breathed in his ear.

Liam shivered and grinned at him, even on the verge of being disemboweled. He couldn’t be sure how much longer he would have Theo for, but for now he would be content to be happy with him in this moment.


	2. Theo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to start with a tiny spoiler which you have probably figured out right now, but Lydia gives birth in this chapter, not in super graphic detail or anything, but the labor is partially described, so I just figured I'd put that out there before you read it :)
> 
> And now we come to the end! Sorry if this gets long and rambling, but this series is about 100k by now, so you're probably used to it :D  
> This has been one hell of a journey for me. It's the longest thing that I have ever written, by far, and one of the few stories (fic or otherwise) that I have ever completed. I started writing it (I think) in November of last year, just as a little piece of fluff because I wanted to write a fluffy fake/pretend relationship, and I thought "why not give this Thiam thing a whirl?", and now I'm here. 100k later.  
> I would say that I'm totally lost and don't know what I'll do next, but luckily Thiam week has that covered! Even though it feels like a rush trying to get this done and then write 7 fics by the 17th, it still feels bittersweet to be leaving this fic. I love it to bits, but it's also time to move on. Hopefully the fics to come will be just as fulfilling, and if nothing else, On the Same Side has introduced me to the Thiam fandom and our Thiam Pack, which is pretty amazing in itself!
> 
> If you didn't feel like reading all of that, I totally understand, but please at least know this:  
> I cannot express how much ever single kudos, comment, bookmark, and subscription mean to me. I would have written Black Diamond just for my own amusement, but the fact that you guys read it and enjoyed it too is kind of an amazing thing! Thank you so much for reading and for sticking this series out, no matter how long and crazy it got! I really appreciate every single one of you who read this. Seriously. I hope you felt it was worth it :)
> 
> So now, thank you very much for putting up with me this far, and please enjoy the final chapter ever of On the Same Side. (I'm not crying, you are.) 
> 
> :)

Theo would have completely resigned himself to going back to prison if it hadn’t been for Liam. For one, because Liam seemed to be under the impression that if he told Theo enough times that he wasn’t going back to jail then it would actually happen that way. But mostly because he didn’t totally _want_ to resign himself to going back to prison. Maybe before he and Liam had gotten together, he would have been content to serve out his sentence there, happy to repent in his cell in peace, but now that he was somehow, amazingly, actually _in_ a relationship with Liam, he felt an overwhelming desire to keep that, an urge to fight that he never thought he would be able to muster.

They lay on the sofa in Theo’s apartment for once. His presence there was becoming more and more rare with each passing week. Liam still had his hands down Theo’s pants, not doing much of anything  anymore, as Theo sleepily nuzzled his neck, trying to decide if it was worth falling asleep on Liam’s chest if he had to wake up to Liam’s choice of take out. It probably was, he decided. Before he could really start to drift off, though, Liam’s phone vibrated loudly on the table next to them.

Liam groaned heavily, extracting his hands from Theo’s underwear and then not moving much from there. His phone continued to disturb Theo’s peace.

“Can you just fucking answer it?” he grumbled into Liam’s neck.

“Only if you get off of me,” Liam shot back, hands curling counter-productively into the back of his shirt.

“That’s so gross, Liam,” he complained, “Go wash your hands and then answer your damn phone.”

Liam grinned at him and wiped a sticky hand down the back of Theo’s shirt before pushing him off of him and stumbling into the kitchen to wash his hands, phone continuing to vibrate on the table. Theo rolled his eyes, tucking himself away more fully and peeling off his shirt. Now that he thought of it, he wasn’t entirely sure how they had both managed to keep all of their clothes on, but it probably had something to do with not wanting to be naked on a couch that belonged to Peter Hale, especially when he had a terrible habit of walking in unannounced (they had learned that lesson the hard way. Multiple times.).

Liam’s phone stopped ringing, and Theo checked the caller ID on his way to his bed area. “It’s Scott,” he called over his shoulder, tossing the dirty shirt into his hamper.

The water shut off and Liam swore. Theo snorted and then had the same realization that Liam had probably just had. It was Thursday night. Scott was probably calling about the board’s verdict. Theo suddenly felt nauseous and sank down on the end of his bed, listening to Liam hastily calling Scott back in the kitchen.

Whatever it was, Theo reminded himself, it would be the right choice. Liam would wait for him…maybe. What if he went back for life, though? He couldn’t expect Liam to stay with him then. Tracy’s voice came suddenly, loudly, in his head, telling him impatiently to grow a pair.

He stood, not bothering to find another shirt, and went back into the kitchen, looking at Liam questioningly as he seemed to be finishing a very short conversation with Scott.

“Okay, we’ll be there,” he said, “Yeah. See you in a bit.” Liam hung up and stared at Theo.

“What?” Theo asked, “Did he say -”

Liam shook his head, frowning a little, looking adorably confused, “He wants us to come over for dinner.”

“So that he can arrest me or so that we can celebrate?” Theo asked cautiously.

“I don’t know,” Liam admitted with a grimace, “He just said to come over so he could tell us in person.”

“What does that mean?” Theo wondered.

“I don’t know,” he repeated, “Can I borrow one of your shirts though? Mine’s gross.”

“Sure,” Theo smiled slightly, kissing the side of his head as he passed him, “Your dick’s still out, by the way.”

 

Theo and Liam stood outside the door to Scott and Malia’s apartment, freshly showered, in clean clothes, hands clutched tightly together.

“It’s going to be okay,” Liam said. Theo wasn’t sure whether he was reassuring himself or Theo. Probably both.

He leaned forward and rang the doorbell, earning a surprised look from Liam. “What?” he asked, “Did you want to just stand outside their door all night?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“No,” Liam said quickly, hand tightening painfully on Theo’s as they heard the lock turn in the door.

“Hey!” Scott smiled at them. For Scott, it was a complicated smile, something of a pursing of the lips, happiness, maybe, tempered by something else. “Glad you could make it.”

“Thanks for having us,” Theo said, trying to keep his voice and heartrate normal as he followed Scott inside, pulling Liam along behind him. Liam seemed almost more nervous about this than Theo was.

“Sure, yeah,” Scott said distractedly, “I just thought maybe it would be better to tell you guys in person, you know?” He led them into the kitchen where Malia was unpacking take out from a French restaurant a few blocks away onto their nicer set of plates.

“We’re not very good at cooking,” Malia explained, catching the confused look that Theo was giving her.

“Uh, yeah,” Scott agreed sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, “Sorry. I hope you guys don’t mind.”

“Can you just tell us already?” Liam blurted out. He was still holding Theo’s hand, but he moved closer to him and maybe a little bit in front of him, as though he could shield him from whatever Scott was about to say.

Scott nodded, leading them the rest of the way past the kitchen and into the living room.

“The board has come to the conclusion,” he said carefully as the three of them sat down, “That the best course of discipline for Theo, given his own statement and the testimonies of others…” he hesitated and Theo could feel Liam’s anger rising next to him. He felt strangely calm himself and ran his thumb lightly over the back of Liam’s hand. “Is to stay on as an official Criminal Consultant with the FBI,” Scott’s face broke into a wide grin as Theo and Liam looked at each other quickly, “You’re not going back to jail.”

Theo felt the breath rush out of him. It was what he had wanted, but not at all what he had expected. Liam was turning into him, buying his face in Theo’s shoulder, and Theo was pretty sure he could feel wet patches beginning to form in his shirt. He circled one arm around Liam, letting the other come up to cradle the back of his head, fingers tangling into his hair.

“What are the conditions?” he found himself asking, sounding much more focused than he felt.

“You’ll have a hearing once a year to check your progress and you have to attend meetings with a Bureau-sanctioned psychiatrist,” Scott told him, still smiling slightly at the pair of them.

“Morrell’s really good,” Malia assured him, coming into the living room to stand at Scott’s shoulder, “Dinner’s ready, by the way.”

“And what about working together?” Liam asked shakily, lifting his damp face from Theo’s shoulder.

Scott frowned. “Theo will have to have a different handler,” he told them, “I tried, but they wouldn’t budge on that rule for Criminal Consultants. You’ll still be working together, though. The new handler that we’ve assigned you doesn’t do much field work and she’ll be on leave soon anyways, but she’s allowed to delegate as much as she wants.”

“Do you mean – “Theo started.

“Lydia,” Malia nodded, “Now can we eat?”

“Course!” Scott grinned, tilting his head up to receive a kiss before standing, “Feel free to take a minute for yourselves before you join us. I know it’s a lot to process.” He followed Malia out of the living room.

Theo turned to look at Liam, reaching out to wipe away what was left of his tears.

“Sorry I cried on you,” Liam said sheepishly.

“Yeah, you’re kind of a loser like that,” Theo grinned at him.

“Shut up,” Liam smiled back, “I can’t believe it all worked out.”

“Really? You seemed pretty sure of it before,” Theo teased.

“Well, I was right,” Liam grinned.

“I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

“Seriously, Theo,” Liam said suddenly, looking him straight in the eyes, “I’m glad we get to stay together. I don’t know what I would have done – “

Theo caught his face in both hands, kissing him decisively and then backing off just enough to watch his face again. “It doesn’t matter,” he told him, “It doesn’t matter anymore. Now let’s go have dinner before Malia beheads us.”

Liam smiled so brilliantly at him that Theo’s breath caught again. How he could ever have settled for going to back to jail, he had no idea. He was glad he had fought for the freedom now, seeing Liam smile like this and just at him. He needed it like he needed air.

 

Dinner with Scott and Malia any other day might have been awkward, but both Liam and Theo were in a good enough mood that any weirdness vanished. Scott seemed relieved, apparently having expected Liam to be more upset about not being Theo’s handler anymore, and as usual, his smiles were infectious. Even Malia seemed well disposed to like the pair of them, if even just for the evening.

Theo drove them back through quiet streets, taking Liam’s suggestion to go to his house without another word.

“Please move in with me,” Liam whispered against his skin as they made their way slowly up the stairs, clinging to each other as if they could still lose it all.

“Yes,” Theo was able to say before capturing Liam’s lips.

The apartment at Peter’s house, by all rights, was far nicer than Liam’s house. There was no history of Hayden, a beautiful view from an extensive balcony, everything perfect enough to be a spread inside a magazine. But it wasn’t him and it wasn’t them. It was drinking champagne out of crystal glasses when all they needed was the bottle. There may be no history of Hayden and Liam in that apartment, but there was no history of Theo and Liam there either. The apartment at Peter’s was a reminder of lonely nights and misunderstanding and of grief and fear. He didn’t see Liam’s food lining the shelves _just so_ in the kitchen, he didn’t see the bath tub and remember, with something between pleasure and embarrassment, Liam sitting on top of him, digging a bullet out of his side while he sipped his way through a bottle of Jack. There was no sliver of light in the bedroom from curtains hastily pulled closed because Theo didn’t want there to be. That apartment wasn’t Liam’s home, and it wasn’t Theo’s either. And if he had it his way, he would never spend another night there.

 

Even the light spilling in through the curtains the next morning couldn’t make Theo smile. The way it illuminated Liam’s skin as he slept, that was a close call, but overnight, his high spirits had come crashing down, the guilt eating fiercely at him. He punched his pillow back into shape and closed his eyes, turning away from Liam. Everything was good. Everything in Theo’s life was so good and he couldn’t – he _shouldn’t_ feel like he deserved it.

He couldn’t go back to sleep, but he didn’t need to make Liam think anything was wrong either. He had been so beautifully happy last night, and Theo still couldn’t believe that he was the cause of that. He still couldn’t believe most things when it came to Liam. It was all like a dream, really.

“Do you remember that night?” Liam’s voice came sleepily from behind him, startling Theo into looking over his shoulder, “When you called me and told me about your sister?”

Theo made a noise of agreement, not bothering to turn around. There was too much going through his head that Liam didn’t need to see.

“You still haven’t forgiven yourself, have you?” Liam’s voice sounded sad, but Theo refused to look.

“Why would I forgive myself?” he gritted out, “I didn’t do anything to me. But I did a lot to other people.”

“Corey forgives you,” Liam pressed. Theo grunted. “Tracy forgave you. I think Stiles is forgiving you too –“

Theo threw the covers off and got out of bed, turning to glare at Liam, who was pushing himself up to sitting. “Why are you telling me this?” He demanded, “What do you think it changes?”

“Everything!” Liam shouted, “The only person who won’t forgive you is yourself!”

Theo’s jaw clenched, fingers curling and flexing at his sides. He tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t make it worse, but he couldn’t. And he couldn’t agree with Liam either. Instead, he turned and went downstairs. He could hear Liam behind him flopping back onto the bed and punching one of the pillows hard. He shouldn’t be doing this, he thought, he was putting Liam through too much already.

It was something that Liam could never understand though. Underneath the rage and pettiness, Liam was _good_. Much, much more so than Theo could ever hope to be. He had never ruined a life and never would. Theo had lost count of how many lives he had ruined. And it hadn’t even started with his sister’s.

He soothed his temper as he started the coffee, reminding himself that Liam was only trying to help. Of course he couldn’t understand, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. And maybe…well, maybe Theo should try to meet him halfway. Liam would definitely never understand if Theo never even tried to explain.

Liam startled him when he turned towards the fridge to start breakfast. He was standing silently in the doorway, watching Theo with a sad look on his face.

“I’m sorry,” they both said at the same time. Theo smiled a little.

Liam gestured for him to speak. “It’s hard to forgive myself. I don’t want to, because I don’t think I should. I don’t think other people should either.” He hesitated. “But I also know that I’m different now. I don’t know how it happened or when or why, but I want to be better, and I guess…I guess I need to take care of myself so that it’s easier for the people around me.”

Liam smiled. “You’re right,” he said, coming tentatively towards Theo, “And I know that I can never understand why you did what you did or how that must feel, and maybe I’m not the right person for you to talk to about it, but…I want you to know I’m here for you.”

“I know,” Theo wrapped his arms around Liam, pulling him into his chest and resting his chin on his shoulder, “Thank you.”

Liam hugged him back. “You should definitely talk to Morrell about it though,” Liam told him, “And maybe someone else.”

Theo grunted, already wishing he hadn’t bothered getting out of bed so early. “Who?” he asked, unsure if Liam was serious or if this was about to be some terrible joke.

“Malia?”

Theo pulled away enough to look him in the eye. “That’s a joke, right? You’re joking?” he asked.

“She was in your world for a long time,” Liam shrugged, “If anyone gets it, she would.”

Theo thought about it. It was different, but everyone had a different story. Maybe it would be worth a try. As long as she didn’t kill him for looking at her first.

“Maybe,” he admitted, kissing the side of Liam’s head and then pulling away to continue making breakfast. “I seriously don’t know how you put up with me sometimes,” he snorted.

“There’s nothing to put up with,” Liam said firmly, “Just…I know you. Let me love you as you are.”

Theo rolled his eyes, letting the fridge door swing closed. Fuck it, they could do without a healthy breakfast for once. He turned, finding Liam right behind him, and pulled him into a bruising kiss.

“Call Scott,” he told him, reaching back to turn the coffee maker off and disentangling himself from Liam so he could start making his way back upstairs, “We’re taking today off.”

 

“No,” Theo said, looking up from where he was tying his shoes, “Toss me my keys, we’ll take the truck.”

Liam rolled his eyes, still on the phone, apparently not wanting to miss his meeting, even though they weren’t supposed to be working that day. Theo shook his head, finishing the knot, and looked up in time to catch the keys that had been launched through the air.

“Real mature,” he looked at them, “Laim!”

“What?” Liam whispered.

“These aren’t even car keys!” he whisper-shouted back, holding up Liam’s own key ring.

He rolled his eyes and glanced over the table again, snatching up Theo’s keys and throwing those at his face too.

“You’re an idiot,” he told him.

“What?” Liam whispered again.

“I said I hate you,” Theo smirked at him.

Liam grinned and darted in for a quick kiss. “Hate you too,” he assured him. His face turned suddenly to embarrassed surprise, “No, not – I wasn’t talking to you. Yeah, cause I’m taking the day off…supposedly!” He grimaced as Theo laughed quietly behind him on their way out the door.

It was maybe a little sad that they were driving his car such a short distance, but technically Theo was moving out today. Once he told Peter, anyways. He wasn’t entirely sure how Derek’s creepy uncle was going to feel about that, but he supposed that it didn’t really matter.

“It’s about time,” he said dramatically when Theo told him that he was moving out, “I was under the impression that you would only be living here for a month or so. Lydia said you were going to move in with your boyfriend.”

Theo’s mouth quirked into a smirk. “Did she?” he asked.

“It was certainly implied,” Peter told him, “Do you need help with your things?”

“No, Liam’s here.”

 

“You told Peter that I was only staying there for a month?” Theo asked Lydia when he saw her the next day.

“Okay, so you took a little longer than I expected,” she sniffed, “But that was hardly my fault.”

‘What was I supposed to do if me and Liam never got together?” he demanded, “I wouldn’t have had a place to stay.”

“I could have talked Peter into letting you stay there indefinitely,” she informed him, “It just would have required extra effort. And I don’t really like talking to Peter in the first place, so…”

Theo shook his head in disbelief.

“You’re happy, though, right?” Lydia asked, meeting Theo’s eyes.

He found himself subconsciously seeking Liam out, smiling slightly when their eyes met. “Yeah,” he said, “I am.”

“That’s all that matters,” she told him.

 

It was just starting to get late, Liam and Theo laying on the couch intertwined with an empty pizza box on the table in front of them. The TV was showing some history documentary that Liam was totally into, his head turned sideways on Theo’s chest so that he could watch it, Theo’s fingers combing lazily through his hair. Theo could take or leave the documentary, honestly, but if Liam was interested, he didn’t mind watching it. The pure contentment of the evening was making his eyelids droop anyways.

The sharp ring of the doorbell jolted him awake. Liam picked his head up, looking curiously at Theo and then over his shoulder at the door. The doorbell rang again.

“Aren’t you going to get that?” Theo asked.

Liam looked at the time glowing on the cable box under the TV. “It’s almost midnight,” he said, already worming his way off of Theo, “Who’s ringing the doorbell at midnight?”

“Mason? Stiles?” Theo suggested, stretching his limbs while he could.

“Neither of them use the doorbell,” Liam reminded him, “I think the only people who use the doorbell anymore are delivery people…did you tip the guy who brought the pizza? Maybe he’s back for revenge.”

“Of course I tipped him, Liam,” he said as the doorbell rang again, “Can you just answer the damn door?”

Liam flipped him off and disappeared into the front hall. Theo pushed himself up to sitting, listening carefully, still unable to completely let his guard down.

“Holy shit!” Liam yelped, and Theo was already around the corner, ready to help Liam fight off hoards of invading armies. Or maybe that was just the documentary about Mykonos talking. Either way, he placed himself determinedly at Liam’s back, ready to support him however he needed it.

Theo peered around him at the strange sight in their doorway. “ _Nolan_?” He asked.

Nolan was doubled over, leaning partially in the doorframe as he supported a taller, dark-haired boy that Theo could only assume was Gabe. It was hard to be sure, though, with all the blood staining his shirt and his face.

“I’m sorry,” Nolan said quickly, voice strained from supporting his friend, “You’re the only people I know in Beacon Hills…well, the only ones I trust, anyways.”

Liam started to ask a question, but Theo cut in quickly. “Questions later,” he said, “Get him inside. On the couch. Go.”

Liam ducked under Gabe’s other arm and helped Nolan carry him into the other room. Theo spared a careful, analytical glance around the street outside before closing and locking the door.

“What happened?” Liam was asking when Theo joined them, already cutting Gabe’s shirt away with a pair of scissors.

“I don’t know,” Nolan said. He was shaking. “I think maybe he got into it with the wrong people, but – he went out to get some food and then I went looking for him because I was worried and he wasn’t answering his phone and – “

“Where did you find him?” Liam asked. Theo looked over Gabe’s torso. There was a long cut across it, but not too deep. Unfortunately, most of the bleeding was probably internal.

“A few blocks from here,” Nolan said, “Sorry, but you told me if I ever needed – “

“I know,” Liam said soothingly.

“Is there a reason you didn’t call an ambulance?” Theo asked, already getting his phone out.

“I don’t – I don’t know. I panicked.” He looked as pale as the moon outside. “Do you think he’s going to be okay?”

Theo jerked his head at Liam to handle calming Nolan down and dialed 911.

 

Liam and Theo were able to get all of the information that they needed out of Nolan in the waiting room of the hospital. Whatever Gabe had been involved with, the time and location of the attack seemed to be more indicative of a bad mugging than anything. Theo called Parrish to send a detective over, effectively passing the case of to the police department.

Shortly after that, Nolan was allowed to see Gabe and Theo and Liam were left alone in the waiting room.

Corey, who was working on a different floor that night, swept into the waiting room about fifteen minutes later, after checking on Gabe for them, looking completely exhausted.

“Theo,” he said.

Theo stood up, jerking a dozing Liam awake. “How is he?” he asked.

Corey grinned. “He’ll be fine. You probably saved his life,” he told him.

Theo stared at him in shock, feeling Liam’s hand on his shoulder.

“Another few minutes and he might not have made it,” Corey continued. He saw to look on Theo’s face and smiled even wider. “Feels good, right?”

“I…all I did was call 911,” Theo said blankly. All he could feel was relief.

He shrugged. “Sometimes that’s all it takes.”

Theo could feel Liam smiling at him.

“Anyways,” Corey said, “It’s good you’re here. Somebody else needs you more than Gabe right now.” He hadn’t stopped smiling, which seemed a little strange in context.

“What do you mean?” Liam asked, “Is someone else hurt? Stop smiling, it’s creepy!”

“No!” Corey said quickly, “It’s Lydia. She’s in labor, but Stiles isn’t allowed in her room because he’s already passed out twice. Scott and her mom are in there, but she was asking why you were taking your sweet time getting here.”

“Seriously?” Theo asked, feeling a ridiculous amount of emotions but mostly, strangely, happiness.

“Seriously,” Corey assured him, “But we better go now before she rips someone’s head off.”

 

Lydia in the middle of labor was not at her most beautiful, but that could hardly be expected of her. Her strawberry blonde hair was stringy with sweat and her face was red with exertion, vagina on full display the second Theo walked into the room. He wrinkled his nose.

“What made you think I want to be anywhere near your vagina?” he asked as the door fell shut behind him.

Lydia smiled a little, breathless, before her face contorted in pain again. “Just hold my fucking hand!” she demanded. Scott and Stiles’s dad were standing a little to the side, probably having been told off for being to nice. A woman, who Theo assumed to be Lydia’s mom, was holding one of her hands, looking fierce and proud. As soon as Theo sacrificed his hand, he felt a vice-like grip, but could hardly grudge it to Lydia. Her pain was probably a million times worse than a hand being squeezed a little too tightly. And then some.

“You got this,” he said quietly, unsure how best to help her besides just being there. Somehow even that little bit seemed to help, a fiercely determined expression coming onto Lydia’s face, turning into a battle cry as the midwife told her to push.

 

The baby looked weird when it finally came out, red and shriveled and covered in blood and other uteral fluids. It was also screaming like a banshee. The doctors whisked it away to be weighed and measured and cleaned, and Lydia turned her head towards her father in law.

“Don’t let Stiles come in until they’ve cleaned me up,” she told him, still short of breath. He nodded, moving towards the door, and Theo tried not to look at where they were stitching her back together.

His fingers had lost all feeling a while ago, and now, as Lydia’s fingers relaxed around his and the blood started to flow back into them again, he wondered if he was supposed to leave.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you,” Lydia was saying to Scott as he approached her bed, already looking a little misty-eyed.

“No,” Scott said, “It’s okay. You needed something different, I get it.”

Theo couldn’t help cocking an eyebrow at him.

“I think I was being too nice to her,” he said sheepishly, “I guess she needed more motivation and less soothing.”

“I’m going to get you some water, Lydia honey,” her mother told her, stroking her hair, “And then I think it might be okay for Stiles to come back in.”

Lydia nodded, and Theo decided it was probably time for him to go. He started to pull away, but Lydia squeezed his hand lightly, making him look at her.

“Thank you,” she said, tired, but more in earnest than he had ever seen her.

Theo smiled back as full smile, and she let him go. He passed Stiles on the way out, receiving a clap on the shoulder that was almost friendly. Just as he was closing the door behind him, he caught a glance of the brand new baby, clean and swaddled in cloth, being passed to Lydia, Stiles sliding in next to her, the two of them looking like the happiest people in the world.

“How was it?” Liam asked as Theo joined him. The rest of their friends had gathered by now too, waiting to meet the newest Stilinski.

“Disgusting,” Theo said honestly, “There was a lot of blood.”

“Says the ex drug lord,” Liam snorted, lacing his fingers through Theo’s, luckily on the other hand from the one that Lydia had held, which was still recovering.

“It’s true,” Theo told him, “Just be glad that neither of us will ever have to give birth.”

Liam stared at him. “Would you want to?” he asked.

“Give birth?” Theo shuddered, “No thanks.”

“No, I meant…you know, have kids?” Liam said, shifting a little uncomfortably in his chair.

“I…I don’t know,” Theo said blankly. He had never thought of it before. He had never had a reason to.

“You don’t have to,” Liam said quickly, “I’m sorry, that was weird. We’ve only been dating for a few months.”

Theo stared at him. “Do you?” he asked. “Want kids?”

“Maybe,” Liam said awkwardly, “Some day.”

“Okay,” Theo leaned forwards to kiss him.

“You don’t think it’s weird to talk about this so early in our relationship?” Liam asked a little self-consciously.

Theo shrugged. “It’s appropriate given what’s happening right now,” he said, “Besides, when have we ever done things the conventional way? We do it the Theo and Liam way.”

“The Thiam way,” Liam agreed.

 

Lydia looked much better when they were allowed in to see her a few hours later. Her hair was pulled up into a bun on top of her head, and she looked well rested, if still physically tired. Their parents had gone out to get food and to call people to brag about their new granddaughter, so when Theo and Liam joined them, it was just Stiles, Malia, and Scott gathered around her bed, Corey and Mason following them inside.

Theo smiled at the look of amazement Lydia was giving the baby in her arms and glanced at Liam. He looked as though his insides had been completely turned to mush. Babies, Theo thought, for how tiny and helpless they were, were extremely powerful things. All they had to do was exist and everyone around them was twisted around one tiny finger.

“Do you want to hold her?” Lydia asked, looking directly at him.

Theo tried to take a step back, but Liam held him firmly in place. “Um…” he said, “I’m not sure if…”

She handed the baby to Stiles, who carried it over to Theo, placing her gently but firmly into Theo’s arms, forcibly moving his arms to show him how to properly hold her. He said nothing, but gave Theo a look that said, ‘one wrong move and you die right here’. Theo smiled a little at the thought of Stiles giving that same look to whoever this tiny child would bring home a decade or two from now.

He could feel Liam at his side, leaning over his shoulder to make faces and cooing sounds at he baby. She was still kind of red and wrinkled, but breathtakingly beautiful all the same. He risked a glance at Liam and then at Lydia, who smiled in exhaustion, around the room and back to Liam before looking down at the tiny fragile thing in his arms again. Liam pressed in closer to his side. He didn’t say anything or move much other than that, but Theo felt the closeness too.

Somehow, he had gone from the head of a thriving empire of crime to standing side by side with the FBI agent who had brought him to justice. No, that wasn’t it. He was pretty sure that Liam was the love of his life. He could work on forgiving himself for what had happened in his past, but maybe…he watched as the baby in his arms gave a tiny yawn, little fists clenching, Liam warm at his side, maybe he wouldn’t mind so much focusing on what came next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I give a special shoutout to SweetPoisonedHeart, LIoNH34RT, pettigrace, and manonlemelon for literally commenting on every single chapter? Well, I'm going to cause that's some dedication right there :) thanks guys, you're all amazing <3


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